Chapter 878
Milu, however, did not panic.
She frowned slightly, her mind already working, piecing together the situation with surprising clarity.
"The forest at night is extremely dangerous," she said in a low voice, her tone calm and analytical. "The Holy Land is no exception. Ordinary candidates would never move recklessly at night, because the risk is too great."
She paused briefly, recalling what had just happened.
"Like that Rank-5 monster earlier—if it weren't for those two attracting its attention, we would have been in danger as well."
Her gaze sharpened.
"So the ones who dare to move at night, and are coming directly toward us without hesitation… There's a high chance—it's them."
"Ah?!"
Li Shu's face turned pale instantly.
"What do we do?! Sister Xianling, what do we do?!"
Her voice rose uncontrollably, panic spilling out as she clutched Mu Xianling tightly. "I don't want to be caught by them! I don't want to follow them! I want to stay with Brother Li Wei—!"
"Stop talking nonsense and calm down!" Mu Xianling snapped softly, though not harshly, as she patted Li Shu's arm, trying to steady her.
Her own heart was uneasy, but she forced herself to remain composed.
"It might not necessarily be them. It could also be a monster."
She took a breath, then continued more seriously.
"But we have to prepare for the worst. If it really is them, we can't outrun them anymore. And if we stay here, with their strength, they will definitely sense our presence."
She frowned slightly. "Running won't work. Hiding… won't be easy either."
"Then what do we do?" Li Shu asked anxiously. "Whether it's a monster or those two, we need to think of something quickly!"
"Don't rush."
Mu Xianling said softly, though her brows were tightly knit. "The more you panic, the harder it is to think clearly."
She fell silent.
Thinking.
Searching for a solution.
But time was running out.
The sound was getting closer.
And still—
She had nothing.
After a moment, she let out a quiet sigh, her voice carrying a trace of helplessness.
"Our strength is exhausted, we can't run anymore… If only we had some kind of treasure that could hide our presence, then we could stay in place and avoid being detected."
"A treasure that hides presence?"
Milu's eyes lit up instantly. "I have one."
Mu Xianling froze.
"You do?"
She turned sharply, surprise flashing across her face.
"Yes."
Milu nodded, and without hesitation, she reached into her sleeve and took out a delicate brocade box.
Opening it—
"Buzz—!"
A faint gray energy surged outward, spreading rapidly before forming a translucent barrier around the three of them, enveloping their bodies completely.
In that instant—
Mu Xianling and Li Shu both felt it clearly.
Their presence—
Gone.
Their aura—
Sealed.
Not a single trace leaked out.
It was as if they had vanished from the world entirely.
Seeing their astonished expressions, Milu explained calmly,
"This is a hidden treasure box given to me by my family. It can conceal a warrior's aura completely. Once activated, even a Lord Rank would not be able to detect us."
She paused slightly.
"It's extremely valuable."
Her tone lowered.
"But right now… our lives are more important."
Mu Xianling's eyes brightened with relief.
"With this, even those two, despite being War Kings, won't be able to find us!"
"Then we're saved?!" Li Shu said excitedly, her fear finally easing slightly. "They won't be able to do anything to us anymore!"
"Don't celebrate too early." Milu said seriously. "This item has limitations. t can only be used three times per day, and each use lasts one hour at most. More precisely, each activation maintains the concealment for only half an hour."
She looked at them. "After that, the effect disappears, and our presence will be exposed again."
"So many restrictions…" Mu Xianling frowned slightly, but quickly shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Surviving this moment is what matters."
She glanced around quickly.
"We can't just stand here. Even if they can't sense us, they can still see us."
Her eyes landed on a nearby tree.
"There—climb up!"
Without hesitation, the three moved.
Despite their exhaustion, their bodies still retained enough strength for basic movement, and with effort, they climbed up into the dense branches of the large tree, hiding themselves among the leaves.
Just as they settled into position—
"Sha—!"
Two figures appeared below.
Exactly where they had been moments ago.
Shao Yushan.
Jiao Zhiming.
The three girls held their breath instantly, their bodies going completely still, not daring to make the slightest movement, their hearts pounding loudly in their chests.
"It's strange…"
Jiao Zhiming frowned, holding a round iron plate in his hand as he looked around with confusion.
"I clearly sensed their presence just now. They should be here."
He glanced at the device. "But now… there's nothing. Even the life seeker isn't reacting."
"Could it be your senses were off?" Shao Yushan looked around suspiciously, his gaze sweeping the area. "Or maybe there's something wrong with that thing?"
"I don't know whether I was too sensitive, but I've already checked the life seeker carefully, and there's absolutely no problem with it," Jiao Zhiming said while frowning slightly, his gaze sweeping the surroundings as if trying to catch even the faintest trace left behind. "The direction it pointed to is clearly here, there's no mistake… but…"
He paused, his expression growing more puzzled.
"But those three female candidates are nowhere to be found."
"Maybe they were here before and then left," Shao Yushan said after thinking for a moment, his tone carrying a trace of impatience, as if he did not want to linger too long in such an uncertain place. "Let's keep going forward, they shouldn't have gotten far."
"Alright."
Jiao Zhiming nodded slightly, though his brows were still tightly knit, clearly unwilling to accept the situation, but with no better option, he could only turn and follow.
The two of them quickly disappeared into the darkness once again, their figures swallowed by the night as the rustling sound of their footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Only after they had completely left did the three girls hidden within the tree finally dare to breathe...
At that moment just now, their entire bodies had been tense to the extreme, their nerves stretched tight like bowstrings, their hair almost standing on end from fear, terrified that even the slightest movement might expose them.
But fortunately—
Milu's hidden treasure had worked perfectly.
Even though those two possessed the strength of War Kings, they were still unable to sense even the faintest trace of their presence, as if the three of them had been erased entirely from the world.
Thinking back, if they had not prepared in advance, if they had not made the decision to use the treasure and climb the tree—
The outcome would have been unimaginable.
"They… seem to have left."
Li Shu carefully peeked in the direction Shao Yushan had gone, her voice still low, as if she feared even speaking too loudly might attract danger.
"We can't relax yet."
Mu Xianling shook her head slightly, her expression still serious.
"Let's go in the opposite direction. The farther we get, the better."
She frowned slightly as she recalled what she had just heard.
"From what they said earlier, it seems they have some kind of special treasure that can detect our location."
Her voice grew heavier.
"That's not good news for us. And judging from their attitude… they haven't given up."
Milu's face changed slightly. "You mean… after half an hour, when the effect of the hidden treasure disappears, they'll still be able to find us?"
"Yes."
Mu Xianling nodded.
"What do we do…"
Li Shu's voice trembled again, her eyes reddening as despair crept back in. "I don't want them to… do that to me…"
"What else can we do?" Mu Xianling looked into the distance, her gaze carrying both determination and helplessness.
"We can only rely on this treasure to buy time."
She took a slow breath.
"And hope… that Li Wei finds us before that happens."
In her heart, a faint image surfaced—
A figure arriving like a hero, breaking through danger, appearing just when everything seemed lost.
She wanted to believe it.
But she also knew...
The Holy Land was vast.
The chances of such a meeting were painfully small.
Unless luck itself intervened.
"I can only hope so…"
Milu said quietly, her voice no longer as confident as before, now tinged with helplessness.
"I hope Brother Li Wei finds us soon… I really do…"
Li Shu murmured softly, her voice choked with emotion. "I like Brother Li Wei… I don't want to be ruined by those bad people…"
Supporting one another, the three girls stepped back into the darkness, moving in the opposite direction of Shao Yushan and the others, their figures gradually disappearing into the night.
Time flowed silently.
The first night—
Passed.
Within that single night, countless candidates lost their lives, some falling to the hands of He Anmin and his group, others devoured by the lurking monsters of the forest, their blood soaking into the earth, dyeing it a deep, unsettling red.
The entire Holy Land seemed to sink into a suffocating gloom, the air thick with the sharp scent of blood, as if the land itself had begun to breathe violence.
And yet—
This was only the beginning.